(written by Islander)
For a change, let’s cut to the chase and then come back and fill in some additional details.
What you’re about to experience in this premiere, as the Danish band Lotan accurately say about their new album Yetzer Hara, is sound as a weapon, ruthlessly wielded to express both fury and crushing dismay over the pathetic failures of humankind.
In the song we’re premiering today, “Incantation of Hatred“, Lotan don’t draw their weapons right away. They first bear witness to the bleakness of existence through a soft and sorrow-steeped guitar melody — but then their fury flares, through caustic guitars, tumbling beats, and scorching screams.
The riffing, however, doesn’t banish the bleakness but carries it forward with greater intensity. The music dismally wails and morbidly moans as much as it slugs and sears (and it definitely does those things too). Those miserable ringing notes plant themselves ever deeper in a listener’s head as they continue surfacing, even as the rhythm section batter and brawl and the scalding vocals reach new heights of ferocious intensity.
Eventually, Lotan really do attack, setting loose flurries of jolting and jabbing riffage and surging seas of brilliantly gleaming chords. Yet there’s a feeling of despair that floods the senses, and the rapidly roiling fretwork, piercing in tone, is both breathtaking and emotionally lacerating.
The song is accompanied by a video that includes film of Lotan performing on stage but also a collage of imagery that connects with the song’s lyrical themes (more about that in a moment):
“Incantation of Hatred” will be digitally released as a single on July 11th. Yetzer Hara is set for release on August 15th by Emanzipation Productions. As the label explains:
Forged in the fires of Denmark’s extreme metal underground, Lotan deliver a blistering fusion of blackened death metal and social defiance. Inspired by the likes of Behemoth, Hate, Mgła, and Anaal Nathrakh, the band blends nihilism and aggression with a confrontational critique of modern decay.
Yetzer Hara is not just an album: it is a reckoning. Drawing from the biblical tale of Cain and Abel, Lotan delve into the destructive urges that define humanity’s fall from grace, invoking themes of internal conflict, moral collapse, and primal violence.
Lotan have also shared their own thoughts about the album’s inspiration:
Our sound is a weapon – forged in fury, aimed at the puppeteers who thrive on division and decay…. This is not escapism. This is resistance. In the name of distortion.
LOTAN is:
Martin Rubini – vocals
Lasse Heiberg – guitar
Andy Dragsberg – guitar
Phillip Kaaber – bass
Jon Elmquist – drums
For more info about the song and the album, check the links below. We have also included Lotan‘s official video for the first single from the album, the aptly named “Righteous Fury“.
DIGITAL SINGLE:
https://bfan.link/incantation-of-hatred
PRE-SAVE:
https://bfan.link/yetzer-hara
LOTAN:
https://lotan.bandcamp.com/album/lotan
https://www.instagram.com/lotan_band/
https://www.facebook.com/lotanband